Be like water.

I was presenting my work to the VP of Design. There were design engineers present as well to make sure my UI aligned with our design system. I got into a (friendly) debate about component implementation when the VP wondered out loud:

Why do we still make wireframes?

In his vision, designers would have complete ownership over the frontend. They would produce the coded UI. And the engineers would be responsible for wiring up the frontend to data and logic.

This was six years ago.

I’m seeing his vision come to life now. I tried TempoLabs recently, and it blew me away. In a single prompt, I generated a fully-functional React app with a PRD, user flows, and wireframes. I could edit any part of the app and it would update all the other views. I didn’t like the AI-generated styling. Instead of diving into CSS, I kept prompting until the styling looked good.

“Should designers code?” was the great debate of our profession. But maybe that’s not the right question anymore. The code has been abstracted. All you need to do is prompt.

There’s little value in creating pictures of software in Figma. It’s easier than ever to create actual, working software.

I was scared the first time a PM edited my Figma files. I wondered: If a PM could create mockups, why would a company need me?

My thinking was short-sighted.

The way designers have produced work hasn’t changed in over a decade. Whether it’s Photoshop, Balsamiq, Sketch, or Figma, we created pictures of what software could look like, and then handed them off to be developed.

That gap has closed. You can now generate actual software at the speed of thought.

Working in tech means constantly changing the way we work. Being technically proficient is important. Being flexible is more important.

Be like water.

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P.S. Should developers code? I’ve seen developers start to “vibe code.” It’s fun.

P.P.S. Software is a means, not an end. How does software make our lives easier or faster? Focus on that.